View full sizeAP fileThe performance of new QB Brandon Weeden in the brown and orange of the Browns is going to be far more important to the team's fans -- eventually -- than his selection with the 22nd pick in the first round. That's Terry Pluto's view, and he's sticking to it.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Questioning the Answer Man in the wake of the draft.

Question: Should the Browns have waited until the second round to draft Brandon Weeden?

Answer: Perhaps.

Q:What kind of answer is that?

A: Be it taking the Oklahoma State quarterback at No. 22 or at No. 37, the bottom line is the same.

Q:Meaning what?

A: Being a first or second round pick, Weeden had better be ready to start and produce as a rookie in the AFC North. If he can bring some stability to the ever-shaky Browns quarterback situation and is a significant upgrade from Colt McCoy, then he's a bargain at No. 22. They didn't want to risk anyone trading up or drafting Weeden before No. 37, so they took him at No. 22.

Q:What if he's just a backup?

A: Then even the second round is too high. McCoy was a third-round pick and viewed as a backup by most teams. The top two rounds are supposed to produce starters. As a third rounder, McCoy was a solid pick in 2010. You can put him in a game and not be embarrassed.

Q:Do you still want to keep McCoy as a backup?

A: Absolutely, unless McCoy wants out. Or if McCoy cops an attitude. But if McCoy realizes that part of being a pro is doing the best job in your current situation -- then he'll make it work as a backup. And odds are, he'll play. Only once since 1999 (Tim Couch in 2001) did a Browns quarterback start all 16 games.

Q:So why are fans hung up on Weeden being drafted at No. 22?

A: Because all the media coverage, online information and guide books can make broadcasters, writers and fans think they know a lot more about the draft than they really do. It's so tempting for all of us to believe we know more than the teams doing the drafting and trying to figure out how the picks will come up.

Q:Didn't Mitchell Schwartz go too high at No. 37?

A: That's what some draft experts said. I have no clue if the Browns were wise to draft the tackle at No. 37. I don't know if I watched his California team play last season. If I did, I didn't pay attention to the offensive tackles. Nor do most fans and media people. Yet some have such strong opinions about how the Browns should have taken Mississippi's Bobby Massie or Stanford's Jonathan Martin at tackle instead of Schwartz.

Q:Should they have done that?

A: Most draft books had them rated over Schwartz. That's how most media people form their opinions about linemen -- based on what someone else said. That's how the second-guessing is done on linemen and in the lower part of the draft. We in the media hear someone's opinion on Schwartz vs. another tackle, and we make it our own. Or maybe we watch a few highlights on YouTube. Then we in the media call it "homework."

Q:So what about Schwartz?

A: He made first-team All Pac-12. He played 35 games at left tackle, 16 at right tackle. Those facts indicate he's a solid choice.

Q:How could the Browns draft John Hughes in the third round, when he was supposed to go in the fifth round or later?

A: I watched part of a Cincinnati Bearcats game last season, but paid no attention to Hughes. I doubt even the most dedicated Bearcats fans focused on Hughes.

Q:So why did the Browns take him in the third round?

A: Because they thought he'd bring a massive physical presence to the middle of the defensive line. They thought other teams were interested in Hughes, even if the draft guides said otherwise.

Q:So the Browns don't worry about draft projections?

A: It seems they are more concerned about getting their guys, period. A year ago, the Browns supposedly took Jabaal Sheard too high at No. 37. Perhaps the same was true of Greg Little at No. 59. When ESPN's Mel Kiper did what he calls his "2011 Re-Draft," he rated Sheard as eighth and Little 20th among the top 20 rookies. So they either went too high or too low, depending upon when you looked at that draft.

Q:Why are you making excuses for the Browns?

A: In 2010, General Manager Tom Heckert blew it whenthe traded into the second round for injury-prone Montario Hardesty. But in the same round, he selected T.J. Ward, who was supposed to go no higher than the third round. Ward has been a starter from the first game of his career and would be a first-rounder if the draft were held again.

Q:So you think the Browns had a good draft?

A: I think it could have been better if they had found another receiver. If they had signed veteran free agent Eric Winston at right tackle, they would have drafted a receiver at No. 37. But Heckert has been solid in his drafting, and he doesn't seem to worry about what others will say of his selections. He targets players and goes after them.

If he's right on Weeden as he has been on the likes of Joe Haden, Sheard, Ward and several other of his Browns picks -- no one will care where Weeden was drafted. They will just be glad the Browns drafted him.

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